Sussex Cricket Coach Alexia Walker Backs Brighton and Hove's Sport Lifts Her Higher Campaign
Alexia Walker, women's head coach at Sussex. Image: Brighton & Hove City Council
Alexia Walker was playing cricket for Sussex just six months after she first picked up a bat at her primary school's after-school club in the early 1990s, and she was often the only girl in the team. Now women's head coach at Sussex and one of 53 women named by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as changing the game, she is backing Brighton and Hove City Council's Sport Lifts Her Higher campaign, which says girls in the UK miss out on 1.4 hours of sport a week compared with boys, the equivalent of 52 football matches a year.
The council launched the year-long campaign in January with the aim of making Brighton and Hove the UK's capital for women and girls in sport. Walker's backing, announced on 1 October, puts a coach with a career spanning England A, Loughborough University and a Brighton school cricket academy behind its message that there are now more ways into the game than ever.
From an after-school club to the ECB's 53
Walker says she tried every sport as a child but was swept up by cricket, and that being the only girl never bothered her.
“I was sporty as a child and tried every sport I could, but I was just swept up by cricket.
“Back then, I was often the only girl, but I didn’t really care. I just loved the sport.”
Alexia Walker, women’s head coach at Sussex
The path she took is laid out below, from the council's account of her career.
EARLY 1990S
A Sussex coach comes to her primary school
Walker started playing at her local primary school when a Sussex coach began running after-school sessions. Within six months she was representing Sussex and captaining her school team.
PLAYING CAREER
Sussex, Loughborough, Brighton and Horsham
She went on to captain England A and play for Sussex, Loughborough University, Brighton and Hove CC and Horsham CC.
OFF THE FIELD
Analyst, performance manager and director of cricket
Her roles include first team analyst at Leicestershire CCC, performance manager and assistant coach at Loughborough University, and director of cricket at Brighton College. At 27, the council says, she became the youngest person ever to gain a level 4 coaching qualification.
A DECADE IN BRIGHTON
Brighton Aldridge Community Academy
She spent more than a decade at the academy, launching and then developing its cricket academy, a pathway the council says supported more than 200 local young people during her time there and still does.
2026
Named in the ECB’s 53
The ECB marked 53 years since England hosted and won the first Women’s World Cup in 1973 by recognising 53 women shaping the game today, and Walker is on the ECB's list. Sussex Cricket reported her inclusion on its own website.
Walker's career has also been about access, the council says, including opening up cricket to working class communities in the city. She now works within a county set-up that the council describes as tier two, meaning players are not full-time professionals but can train and play in an elite environment, and plenty have moved from Sussex into full-time cricket.
The gap the campaign wants to close
The council's launch announcement set out the gap in Brighton and Hove using a 2023 survey. Only 15% of secondary-school-age girls had done an hour of physical activity every day in the week before, against 27% of boys, and in primary schools the figures were 22% of girls and 34% of boys.
Nationally, the council says one in three girls drop out of sport during their teenage years, and one in three girls also said boys had access to a wider range of sports. But more than half of the girls surveyed said watching professional athletes inspired them to play, and two thirds agreed that seeing diverse athletes showed sport was for everyone. That is why part of the campaign focuses on making elite women's sport in the city more visible.
“We want 2026 to be the year Brighton & Hove becomes the UK capital of girls and women in sport.”
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, at the campaign’s launch
More matches, more role models
Cricket in Hove has become more visible over the past year. Sussex have offered free entry to home women's T20 fixtures this season, the council says, and the club's preview of the Sharks' first home T20 of 2026 lists entry as free. The County Ground also hosted the women's T20 international between England and New Zealand on Monday 25 May, which England won by seven wickets to take the three-match series 2-1.
The council also points to local role models. Georgia Adams started her career at Sussex and has gone on to play around the world, and Walker remembers her as one of the girls she coached. Chiara Green, the current Sussex captain, and Charlotte Burton, who leads Sussex's women and girls' pathway, are both former pupils of Cardinal Newman. The Sussex Cricket Foundation says more than 65 clubs across the county now have a women's or girls' section.
“There are so many different entry points to cricket now. There will be a way into the game for everyone, regardless of age.”
Alexia Walker
How to get into cricket in Brighton and Hove
According to the Sussex Cricket Foundation's website, there are routes in for complete beginners, players ready for hard ball and girls at school. Tap a group to open it.
Never played before
2 options · soft ball festivals and league
Women’s soft ball festivals
Held at cricket clubs across Sussex in the summer, the foundation describes them as fun, friendly and non-competitive, for women of any age and ability, including people who have never played or who are returning after years away.
Women’s soft ball league and super series
For players who want regular matches after trying a festival. The foundation has a separate soft ball page with details.
Ready for hard ball
2 options · Sussex Slam and women’s leagues
Women’s Sussex Slam
Played on weekday evenings or weekends, it is aimed at clubs that are new to hard ball or developing their hard ball players.
Sussex Women’s Premier League and Division 1
The foundation runs women's hard ball leagues on Sundays, including the Premier League, which is T20 and 40 over cricket, and a Division 1 league playing 30 over cricket.
Girls at school
2 options · secondary and primary programmes
Secondary schools
The foundation works with 13 schools on the Chance to Shine Girls Secondary School Programme, delivering cricket and leadership sessions, and an ECB project aims to bring girls' taster sessions to 30 secondary schools.
Primary schools
Coaching sessions run through the primary school Chance to Shine project, with summer Dynamos girls' countdown competitions.
The foundation's page also has a map of the clubs across Sussex offering women's and girls' cricket, with a territory manager to contact for each area of the county.
“Cricket provides so much more than runs, wickets and wins. Pick up a bat or ball, give it a go and see where this wonderful sport can take you.”
Alexia Walker
Women and girls cricket in SussexSport Lifts Her Higher: the council’s announcement
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